I've never cared much for Gardenhire. I think he's a bad in-game manager. He refuses to platoon, often makes bizarre calls to the pen, and generally, just makes me scratch my head, as if we're watching different events unfold on the field. With that said, nice piece Seth. I'm neutral on retaining Gardenhire as the manager. I simply think that the manager doesn't make much of an on-field difference unless he's exceptionally intelligent and studious (Maddon, anyone?). The players seem to like Gardy. During his tenure, we have seen very few clubhouse incidents and most of the time, this franchise was lauded for being able to put its head down and play some friggin' baseball. The players have often responded to him in positive ways, though that is certainly in question after the last three Septembers. I also understand people's problem with this move, that it feels a lot like the franchise is stuck in neutral. What I don't understand is the pure, childish vitriol spewed toward Gardenhire and his coaches over this choice. Part of this franchise's strength has been in its loyalty to management and the front office, trusting in their ability to see things through to their completion. It would have been easy to cut ties with Ryan in the late 90s but they didn't do it. It would have been easy to cut ties with Kelly in the late 90s but they didn't do it. And that seemed to turn out okay for everyone.